Machine frame



H. A. W. WOOD MACHINE FRAME Nov. 1, 1927.

. Filed Nov. 28. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 -i y'mb.

Nov. l, 1927.

H. A. W. WOOD MACHINE FRAME Filed NOV. 28, 1924 2 Sheets-Shaw Patented Nov. 1, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRI A. WISE WOOD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB. TO WOOD NEWSPAPER MA- CHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FRAME.

Application filed November 28, 1924, Serial No; 752,642, and in Great Britain February 20, 1924.

This application is filed in place of an application-Serial No. 655,775, filed August 4, 1923, and abandoned, but with a speclal reservation to the effect that the invention is not abandoned.

This invention relates to the frame of a machine, as for example, a printing press. The principal objects of the invention are to provide a construction of frame of such nature that the various parts necessary for the 'assembly of thecomplete machinercan be mounted thereon without necessitating machining of the frame. This I accomplish by casting the iron frame originally with depressions at points at which the finished surfaces would ordinarily be located instead of casting an excess of metal on the frame at these points and then planing it off. After the iron frame is cast, separate finished metal molds are applied over the depressed surfaces and soft metal introduced therein and finished in the casting process to the proper sizes and shapes to form seating or bearing surfaces all ready to receive the machine parts that are to be carried thereby. This is the procedure in general although the details are varied in accordance with different conditions presented.

This case is not concerned with the proc ess but with the machine frame itself, preferably a printing press, as anarticle of manufacture and involves various features of construction thereof for the purpose of providing for the supporting of'the rolls, cyl- 85 inders and. various other parts of the oper ating mechanism in the case of a printing press.

It will be understood that while I speak of the' printing machine frame it is to be understood that there is a frame on each side, the two being cast separately and later assembled to constitute a complete supporting frame for the whole machine.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side view of a printing machine frame for one side of the press, showing some of the cylinders and rolls in dotted lines to indicate how they are assembled on the frame;

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same;

Fig. 3- is a sectional view on an enlarged scale on theline 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side view similar to.Fig. 1 lllustrating the parts shown in Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrow 4 1n Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an end view, partly broken away, of the same parts, that is, the same is shown at the top of Fig. 2; i

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan looking in the direction of the arrow 7 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 of Fig. 7.

In the manufacture of printing presses the two side frames have been formed of cast iron, each one constituting quite a complicated casting and being provided in the casting operation with an excess of metal on the surfaces that are to be finished. This excess is then removed by planing, milling or other machine tool methods, as is well understood in this and many other arts. The setting up of the frame in position for the various machines to perform their different kinds of operations upon them is in itself a long and time-consuming operation. After one frame is set up and planed or milled, the next frame-has to be set-up all over again and very little of the time used in locating thefirst frame can be dispensed with in setting up the next one. The planing and millin g operations are just as long for one frame as for another, no matter how many have been done. This requires the employment of skilled mechanics and they have to spend a great deal of time on it. If any slight error is made it is likely to result in throwing away the whole frame with all the work that has been done on it. Therefore an excess of care must be taken with each step and men must be employed that can be depended upon to do their work carefully and accuratel no matter how much time is consumed.

The principal object of this invention, as 100 view on the line 5-5 has been stated above, is to avoid all this work of setting up the frame properly in one machine after another and du licating the work on all the frames, as wel as the actual operation of machine finishing the surfaces. For the purpose of illustrating this invention, I have shown it as applied to one of the side frames 10 of a printing machine of the type involving two cou les of plate cylinders 11 and impression cyl' no ders 12. These are inked of course in the usual way from a fountain roll 13, ink cylinder 14, form roll 15, etc., all mounted on the frame. It will be understood of course that the ink fountain, distributing rolls and various other elements, not indicated in these figures, are also mounted on this frame. Two of these frames located directly opposite each other and properly fastened together constitute a part of the frame of this machine. It is to be understood that many features of this invention can be applied to the frame of the folder with certain modifications, the fountain itself and other parts of the printing machine as well as various other machines.

I will not describe the various shapes and angles of the frame 10 at this point, 1t being sufficient to say that it has the general shape that is well known in this art for this type of press. The shape can be varied in accordance with 'the different locations that are desired for the printing couples and other elements of the machine. It can be cast iron or other hard metal or formed of such metal in structural shapes.

In the first place, the frame is adapted to be supported on a floor or other foundation. In order to avoid the necessity of planing the bottoms of the legs and, in fact, to avoid providing any legs or feet of cast iron projecting below the frame, I provide a construction as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8 at each end of the frame. In the casting of the frame a pair of parallel depressions or sunken surfaces 20 are provided at the inner sides of which are located undercut recesses 21 projecting further in. Two bodies of soft metal 22 are cast in these depressions and recesses and project therefrom. This is done by the use of a mold (not shown) placed over the depressions and having finished interior surfaces. A body 22 of soft metal is cast therein having a perfectly fiat seating surface on the bottom. This metal preferably is of such a nature that it will cast at between five and six hundred degrees F. and will set very quickly. It is conveniently formed of an alloy of antimony and lead of such proportions that on setting it will not contract or expand to any appreciable degree. It is also of such nature that it can be cast against the smooth surfaces of the mold and will partake exactly of the shape and smoothness of those surfaces. It is on account of this quality that the outer or bottom surface of .each of the cast seats 22 is formed absolutely flat and smooth in the casting operation. Therefore these two seats can be located on a level surface and the frame bolted thereto through bolt holes 23 and this will not only accurately locate the frame in horizontal position but will enable it to be fixedly secured. It will be noted that in this way the machinnee-near ing of the bottoms of the feet on the frame is entirely avoided and the advantages above mentioned are secured.

It may be noted at this point that I have shown a similar seat 25 mounted on the bottom of the frame but extending upwardly for receiving a part of the machine. This is a seat of similar soft metal'cast in position on the frame providing a seating surface for receiving a stationary element. I also show two seats 26 cast on integral projections 27 on opposite ends of the frame formed in the same way and providing seating surfaces for supporting the ink fountain, not shown. In this case the projections 27 are provided with bolt holes 28 so that the fountain can be firmly secured in position. 1

On the frame at a higher point there is a concave socket 30 through which the shaft of the ink cylinder passes. On'the outer side of the frame is cast a seat 31 of soft metal in accordance with the principles above described-and having an outer flat seating surface of arcuate form in elevation for receiving against it the bracket of the distributing rolls which is centered on the ink fountain,

shaft. This bracket bears up against the arcuate seat 31. Thus a firm seating surface for it is secured and yet there is no machining of the frame 10 at that point. Two seating surfaces 29 are shown adjacent there-- to for receiving against them a cap for holding the ink cylinder shaft. A. circular seating surface 32 of soft metal is similarly mounted for the ductor roll shaft. It will be seen that there are perforations 33 and 34 through the seats 31 and 32. These per fora-tions are provided through the frame to permit a shaft or stud to pass through, or usually for the reception of bolts to bolt a part of the printing machine to the frame up against the soft metal seating surfaces. Two perforated seats 35 are shown at adjacent points for similar purposes.

At the top of the frame Ihave shown two bushings 36 cast in position and in alignment with each other for receiving a plate cylinder adjusting shaft. As shown more.

fully in Figs. 5 and 6, these bushings are in 'the form of soft metal complete cylin ders or linings cast in openings in the cast iron frame. They are provided with flanges 37 on the outer side and with dove-tailed projections 38 back of both the cylindrical and flat seating surfaces entering corresponding undercut recesses in the cast iron frame to hold the soft metal bushing permanently and immovably in position. The same principle is carried out in all. these feaures. Similar bushings having seats 37 are shown below the printing couples for supporting cross shafts.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown more in detail the method of mounting the seat 43 on slightly in that position. Where that these molds have to be the frame 10. Also, I have shown three fiat seats 42 at adjacent points mounted in a similar manner. These seating surfaces are all flat ones and the seat 43 has two flat surfaces at right angles to each other for receiving parts of the machine against them. These seating surfaces are formed of the soft metal alloy above described and secured y dove-tailed projections 41 extending into recesses originally cast in the frame, as above described. In one case I have shown a seat 42 held in place by having the edges of the depression in the frame undercut at 45 to dispense with a plurality of recesses 41. Wherever required, bolt holes 44 are east through the original frame and seats in registration. These can be used to help locate the molds. Bolts are inserted through them to hold printing machine elements against the seats 42 and 43. In the form indicated in these figures two elements would be held on opposite sides of the frame against two opposite seating surfaces. A seat 47 can be located and secured in position by casting a dove-tail projection 46 on the iron casting and then casting the seat on it.

It will be noticed that whether the seating surfaces thus produced are flat or in the orm of cylindrical bearings the principle is the same. These soft metal seats are cast in permanent position on the frame and constitute a permanent part of the frame. They are originally cast with their seating surfaces in the shape and of the degree of smoothness desired and do not change thereafter. There is no necessity of performing any finishing operations upon .them. No skilled labor has to be employed and the frame does not have to be set up even in one finishing machine, to say nothingof being set up in many cases in one finishing machine after another for the various finishing,.planing, milling and drilling operations.

It is true that the molds used have to be finished very carefully and that a comparatively large number of these molds have to be employed but they are finished only once and they are used over and over again for alarge number of frames. It is also true frame in such a way that metal will not escape between the mold and the raised cast surfaces of the frame and that they have to be clamped in proper positions but the molds are made originally in many cases so that they cannot be placed in more than one position on the frame and can be shifted only the surfaces are flat that are to serve as seating surfaces such slight shifting is immaterial. It is true of course that the molds which form the bearings 36 have to be lined up on a master shaft, not shown, in order that they may be in proper relative positionto each clamped .on the much simpler operaof this large frame turned on the side or even bottom side up for the application of some of the castings but even that is a small matter compared with the ordinary handling and manipulation and careful adjustment of such frames. In some cases the two frames to be used on the same machine are set up side by side so that the bearings which are located behind the flat surfaces 32, 35, etc. can be lined up by placing a master shaft or stud through the two frames and holding it there while the castings on the two are being poured and set.

Although I have illustrated and described the invention as applied only to a particular type of printing machine frame and to only a few of the parts thereof, I am aware of the fact that it is capable of general application and therefore I do not wish to be limited to the relative location of the various seating and bearing surfaces or other details of construction, except as expressed in the claims. Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. As an article of chine frame formed of hard metal and provided with an undercut recess on its surface and a supporting seat of soft metal in said recess and projecting therefrom, said seat having a plane surface by which a mechanical device is supported.

2. As an article of manufacture, a cast machine frame having in its original manufacture a depression at the place where a finished surface should be located and provided with a body of soft metal cast within and projecting from said depression and having the bearing or seating surface thereon finished in final form in the casting operation, the frame and soft metal seat having registering holes pose described.

3. The combination with a machine frame having a perforation therethrough for receiving a shaft, said perforation being larger than the shaft, of a single body of soft metal within said perforation having an inner cylindrical seating surface fitting the shaft to be received, said body of soft metal constituting a cylinder inside the frame and serving as a bearing for the shaft to be supported.

4. The combination with a machine frame therethrough for the purmanufacture, a maforations and on opposite sides of the frame,

of a single body of soft met-a1 cast within each of said perforations and extending outwardly integrally therefrom on opposite ends of the perforation to form a finished bearing having an inner cylindrical seating sur face fitting the shaft to be received and opposite flat parallel seating surfaces at the ends thereof finished in the act of casting.

5. The combination with a cast iron machine frame having a number of recesses produced therein in the rough casting process with undercut recesses extending inwardly therefrom, certain of them being located directly opposite each other on the frame, of a corresponding number of seats of soft metal cast within said recesses, held in by integral dove-tailed projections produced by casting in the undercut recesses. and projecting beyond the surface of the frame, said seats having fiat outer seating surfaces finished smooth inthe act of casting to constitute seats against which mechanism can be secured in exact predetermined position.

6. The combination with a cast iron printing machine frame having recesses produced therein in casting it located directly opposite each other on the frame, of a corresponding number of seats of soft metal cast within said recesses projecting beyond the surface of the frame and having flat outer seating surfaces finished smooth in the act of casting them to constitute seats against which a part of the printing press mechanism can meme? be secured in exact predetermined position, the cast iron frame and two opposite seats being provided with a continuous perforation therethrough for the reception of the fastening means to secure two elements to the opposite sides of the frame.

7. s an article of manufacture, a machine frame provided with an undercut recess in its surface, and a seat of softer metal cast within said recess with integral projections located and fitting within said recess to anchor the seat immovably to the frame, said 'seat having a smooth seating surface on its exposed face spaced beyond the adjacent surface of the frame.

8. The combination with a machine frame, of a seat of relatively soft metal, said frame and seat having an interengaging undercut recess and projection, whereby an integral projection on one will accurately fill the recess in the other and immovably hold the two parts together, the seat having a plane seating surface thereon finished to its final form in the act of formingit.

9. As an article of manufacture, a machine frame having two surfaces at an angle to each other in position to receive machine parts against them, and a soft metal seat cast against said surfaces and itself having the two seating surfaces cast in finished form for fitting said machine parts, the contacting surfaces of the frame and seat having interengaging and fitting undercut recesses and depressions to hold the seat immovably in position.

- In testimony whereof I have hereunto af fixed my signature.

HENRY A. WISE WOOD. 

